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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201082">On Alcor and Related Dilemmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rindomness/pseuds/rindomness'>rindomness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The (Mis)Adventures of Sam Reese [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcor is Actually Twelve, Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Blood, Cults, Demon Shenanigans, Gen, It's a cultbashing fic of course there's blood, Sam Arc, University of Gliese</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:15:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201082</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rindomness/pseuds/rindomness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alcor brings Sam on her first cult-bashing. It... could have gone better, all things considered. Also, Silver is never going to trust her to go off on her own again without an explanation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alcor the Dreambender &amp; Sam Reese, Alcor the Dreambender &amp; Silver Wills, Sam Reese &amp; Silver Wills</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The (Mis)Adventures of Sam Reese [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985777</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>On Alcor and Related Dilemmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cultbashing happens. So cw for blood and violence and all that fun stuff.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been almost two weeks when the cult rumors started. Not rumors about the <em> confirmed </em> cult that had caused Silver - and, by extension, Sam and Alcor - trouble. This was a different cult, supposedly, and the rumors were mostly circulating around campus because of the people who lived in Pineview, a town about a twenty-minute drive from the University of Gliese proper. Sam had started hearing them in the dining hall at lunch, Alcor had been picking up on them for a bit longer, and Silver still had no idea what was happening.</p><p>“You think it’s an actual concern?” Sam had breached the question, putting a forkful of pasta into her mouth. Alcor - Tyrone, right now - shrugged.</p><p>“You never really know with these kinds of things. Might just want to let it pan out and resolve itself.”</p><p>“What?” Silver asked, looking up from their tablet where they were working on a project. Sam had asked about it, and had come out of the hour-long dump of information with roughly ‘something about Alcor and Mizar for my upper-level class’.</p><p>“Oh, there’s just rumors going around about a cult.”</p><p>“A cult? Do you know who it’s to?”</p><p>Sam looked to Tyrone.</p><p>“Not a clue. I’ve heard a lot of names being thrown around, mostly in the demonology department. Probably a knowledge demon and a bunch of panicked students worrying about midterms.”</p><p>“Doesn’t that make it more likely that it’ll be, like, Alcor or something? With the easy-on-beginners reputation and all.”</p><p>“Probably not. I heard his name flying around, but the last time someone summoned him it didn’t go well.”</p><p>That was true. Setting aside their own experiences, there had been one major incident on the east coast - somewhere in Florida, Sam remembered - where the whole group had been wiped out. She had asked Alcor about it after the fact, and she couldn’t exactly blame him once he explained. Still, it put people on edge. Including her, but... Alcor had always had a reputation for protecting people who couldn’t protect themselves, particularly children. Honestly, Sam wouldn’t have gotten in his way, even if she could have. That had been on Monday, and people were understandably still shaken by it only three days later.</p><p>“Either way,” Tyrone continued, “people probably aren’t leaping up to summon Alcor right now, unless they just don’t care about what happened in Miami.”</p><p>“That’s true.”</p><p>“We probably shouldn’t stick our noses into it, unless something new happens and we have no other choice.”</p><p>Sam nodded. “Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. Especially since we all have to worry about midterms.”</p><p>“I only have the one project for midterms and the Intro to Demonology test with you two.”</p><p>Tyrone nodded. “Hey, why don’t we all study for that together?”</p><p>“Tyrone, are you worried about flunking the midterm?”</p><p>“No, but you two could probably use some help.” He grinned. “I’m something of an expert in the class.”</p><p>“We’re <em> all </em> the top students in the class, dude. None of us are particularly worried. Also, it’s an intro class. How hard can the test really be?”</p><p>“I’m still going to study, though, if you want, Tyrone,” Silver said.</p><p>“See, Sam, they want to study with me.” He adopted a hurt look, staring at Sam. Sam rolled her eyes.</p><p>“You are very dramatic.”</p><p>“Dramatic? Me?” He held a hand to his chest, pretending to look affronted. “I would <em> never </em>.”</p><p>Silver snorted. Sam grinned.</p><p>For the moment, the topic of the cult rumors died to the background. They came back a few hours later, when Sam was working in the quiet spot by the woods, the fountain quietly gurgling away.</p><p>There was in an instant another person beside them, and she looked up and almost fell off the bench. Alcor was floating there, suit and tophat and wings and all. He had a worried look on his face, but that definitely came as a later realization to Sam, after the immediate jolt of panic had died away.</p><p>“Don’t <em> scare </em> me like that!”</p><p>“Sam, we need to talk about the cult.”</p><p>Sam stared at him.</p><p>“I assume you’re talking about the cult which, as of right now, is a collection of rumors?”</p><p>“Yes, Sam, unless you know of another cult that I could be referring to.”</p><p>“I thought you said not to worry about it?”</p><p>“I poked around while you and Silver were in Intro to Demonology earlier, and we might need to worry about it.”</p><p>“So that’s why you weren’t there talking in my ear for an hour straight,” Sam muttered.</p><p>“I heard that, Sam.”</p><p>She just smiled. Alcor crossed his arms and frowned at her. Sam was reminded of a twelve-year-old trying to win an argument through sheer force of will. Eventually, he dropped the position, laying back in the air.</p><p>“It might be nothing, but I can’t be sure. They’re set up in an abandoned warehouse which used to be an animal shelter and they’ve got a suspicious number of wards around the place.”</p><p>“Aren’t you, like, powerful enough to get through pretty much everything?”</p><p>“Yes, but it could end up breaking the wards if I’m not careful, and I don’t want to risk letting them know someone is onto them so early.”</p><p>“So why are you telling me this and not... I don’t know, leaving an anonymous tip with the police?”</p><p>“Because I trust you more than the police? Also it’s generally not a good idea to leave anonymous tips with the police, either the police are in on it or it gets lost in the rest of their stuff. Tried it before, didn’t go well, still had to solve the problem myself.”</p><p>“Do you usually go beat up cults that don’t belong to you?”</p><p>“Not always. But it happens. Happens with cults dedicated to me, too. You saw the news.”</p><p>Right. Miami.</p><p>“So why are you not taking care of it yourself?”</p><p>There was a weird silence, and when Sam looked up, Alcor was sitting, legs crossed in midair, rubbing the back of his neck. He almost looked... embarrassed? Sam didn’t know if demons usually felt embarrassment, but that’s what it looked like. Maybe it was another Alcor-is-a-weird-case situation.</p><p>“Well... um, if you wanted to, usually... well, a lot of Mizars help... with this. So I thought I would... extend an invitation to you. That’s... that’s a normal thing to do, right?”</p><p>“Are... are you trying to ask me if I’ll go attack a cult with you? And getting <em> nervous </em>about it?”</p><p>“...Not- not <em> attack </em> if we don’t have to but at least investigate!”</p><p>“I have midterms, Alcor.” She was quiet, holding his gaze, even though the gold-on-black still creeped her out a bit. “So I want to try to be back by midnight.”</p><p>Alcor’s expression, which for a moment had turned disappointed, immediately brightened, and he grinned, which would have been a normal, excited expression if it weren’t for the sharp teeth that made it up.</p><p>“When did you want to do this?”</p><p>“Probably tonight. That’s when I heard that they were going to try a summons. Didn’t catch who, though.”</p><p>“How are we getting there? And back?”</p><p>“I can blip us.”</p><p>“And if it comes down to a fight?”</p><p>Alcor grinned, and it was something almost nasty.</p><p>“Don’t worry about that,” he said, and Sam really should have been concerned. “I can get you something in a snap. But that should wait until we’re off campus, if at all.”</p><p>Sam decided to hope it didn’t come to a fight, anyway.</p><p>Still, even though it was potentially very dangerous and potentially not a good idea for the sake of her grades, she felt a bubbling of anticipation in her chest. This should be interesting, either way. She couldn’t help but feel some excitement for that night, a sense of adventure that came up to her throat, and her face, and she was smiling right back at Alcor.</p><p>“Can’t wait,” she said.</p><hr/><p>“Silver?”</p><p>“Yeah?” Silver looked up from their tablet to look at Sam.</p><p>“Tyrone and I are gonna go into town to pick up snacks for the room. Do you want anything?”</p><p>“Hmm.” Silver put down their stylus and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. “Some peanuts would be nice. Maybe some of the hard candy I’ve got in the drawer? I’m running out.”</p><p>“Got it. We’ll be back before midnight, so don’t come looking for us before then, okay?”</p><p>Silver nodded. “Sounds good.”</p><p>“And call me if anything goes wrong.”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>“And-”</p><p>“Sam, just go to the store, I’m an adult and I will call you if I get into trouble, but please.”</p><p>“Right. Sorry, Silver. I’m just... still a little freaked from the whole cult thing earlier this month.”</p><p>“And I am too, but I’m here, in the dorm, where the door is locked. I will call you if something goes awry. And you call me if something goes awry! I can call the police if you can’t, for some reason.”</p><p>“Thanks, Silver. I’ll be back later.”</p><p>Sam smiled, and Silver waved, going back to their tablet. Sam grabbed her keys and her phone and left the room, locking the door behind her. Tyrone was waiting for her in the hallway, hands in his pockets. Without words, the two of them walked down the hall and out of the building, walking to the quiet spot where they had talked earlier.</p><p>The sun was starting to go down, and the campus was covered by a rosy-orange light. Sam looked up at the pine trees, something that she wasn’t entirely used to still after living on the east coast for most of her life. They didn’t change colors, just stayed the same dark green even as the autumn chill set in. It threw her, a little, to not see the changing colors of leaves, but she could get used to that. If she could get used to Alcor hanging around, she could get used to coniferous trees.</p><p>They walked into the spot, and Alcor stretched, human disguise falling away. His wings gave a little twitch, and when his eyes opened, they were the gold-on-black that Sam had come to be a little more comfortable around. He turned to her.</p><p>“So we’re blipping there, and I’m going to blip us a bit away so that you have time to reorient yourself before we go in.”</p><p>“What does this entail, then?” Sam asked.</p><p>“Hold on.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>He grabbed onto her hand, and the world fell away. It was somehow entirely too dark and entirely too bright at the same time, disorienting and nauseating. It only lasted a moment, but it felt far, far longer than that, as if she were here for an eternity. Then, it ended, and when the world came back only a moment later, Sam doubled over, feeling solid ground under her through her shoes.</p><p>“Holy <em> shit, </em>” she said, after she had caught her breath. “Is that normal?”</p><p>“Yeah... it’s... people tend to have trouble with it the first few times,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head, feet floating about an inch above the asphalt of the large parking lot they had appeared in.</p><p>“Neat.” She stretched up, staring at the sky. “That’s cool.”</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>“Pshh, I’m not hurt, so it’s better than being smacked around by the ocean. I’m good.” She smiled at him, but she could tell it was wobbly. “Just... give me another second,” she added on, seeing the concern on his face. It was almost funny, but then it really wasn’t. “You said earlier you had some kind of weapon?”</p><p>“I... yeah. But it shouldn’t come to a fight, I don’t think.”</p><p>“Just to be safe, can I have it?”</p><p>“What, so you can go rushing in on a totally different demon with a metal pipe?”</p><p>“You know what, Alcor,” she said, and he grinned.</p><p>“Yeah, I’ll get it. Just don’t rush in immediately, that’s generally not a good habit to form.”</p><p>He disappeared, and Sam wondered for a moment where he went before he was back with- <em> what the fuck was that? </em></p><p>“Here you go! Mizar’s weapon.”</p><p>He tossed it to her, and she caught it, barely. It was a baseball bat, something wicked with barbed wire and nails sticking out from it, and she stared at it for a moment.</p><p>“This is way more dangerous than a metal pipe,” was what came out of her mouth, of the many thoughts she was having. Thoughts ranging from <em> why the fuck is this Mizar’s weapon? </em> to <em> Hell yeah, this can do damage </em> , to <em> I am not qualified to handle such a dangerous object </em>.</p><p>“Yep,” he said, a smile playing at his lips. “A lot more dangerous. Also magic, to a point.”</p><p>“Neat,” she said, again, and realized that it was probably a little bit repetitive. “Does it have a name other than ‘Mizar’s weapon’?”</p><p>“Cultbasher,” he said, and there was a note of pride to it. “The first Mizar made it and used it for... exactly that purpose!”</p><p>Sam stared at the weapon for another minute, admiring the absolute destruction something like this could cause. “Awesome,” she said, and looked back up to Alcor.</p><p>“Let’s go, then, cult’s not going to investigate itself.”</p><p>Alcor grinned, and the two of them went towards the warehouse, silhouetted against the setting sun.</p><hr/><p>Alissa Hart was most known in the demonology community as “the latest hack trying to prove Alcor could be bound, and somehow she made it out alive.”</p><p>So it was little surprise to find her trying again. This time, though, she had backup. She was trying a different approach. Alcor was famous for his apparent care for children, after all.</p><p>Everything was ready by seven, as the sun was finishing its descent below the horizon line and the sky was turning dark. There was a quiet murmuring from the people around her, and she worked past the wide sleeves of her robe to hold the hand of the boy behind her. She didn’t turn to look at him, but she could feel his hand shaking.</p><p>Good.</p><p>The door to the space they were using was closed, the small hallway that it opened into dark and devoid of people. Everyone was in this room, and Alissa trusted in the power of the wards she had set up over the past few days to keep curious eyes away.</p><p>They were ready to start, and so began the chant.</p><p>Just inside the warehouse, Alcor stiffened, that same distant look that Sam realized now had been him trying to fight off a strong summons. She stared at him, shifting Cultbasher in her hand.</p><p>“Alc-”</p><p>“Someone incredibly brave or incredibly stupid is in charge here,” Alcor ground out, eyes darting to Sam. “That can get dangerous fast. Alright, here’s the plan, then.”</p><p>“Okay?”</p><p>“I’m going to go see what they want, you’re going to wait in the hallway down there,” Alcor pointed, voice still low. “If you hear things going south,” he started, and then nodded to Cultbasher. “You have a weapon. Use it.”</p><p>Sam nodded. “Sounds good.”</p><p>Alcor nodded, and a moment later, he disappeared. Sam walked into the warehouse, quietly closing the distance between herself and the hallway, two doors facing each other on either side.</p><p>Behind the right one, Sam could hear voices.</p><p>“W̸̨̹͋H̵̭̀̇O̵̳͗͝ ̷͉̯̚D̴̬͚̚Ä̵̦͖́̊R̵̨̙͋E̶̹̘͗͑Ś̸̲̣̓ ̷̧̮̎̇Ṣ̸̓͋U̷̲̿̕M̷͇͚̕M̸͖͑͜O̴̺͋Ṋ̶̎͠ ̸͍̑̕Ą̶͚̈L̸͙̂C̴̹̻͌́Ő̶̫R̴̪̰̒̒ ̴͚͕̀T̸̜̤́̕H̶͎̑E̵͔͛̂ ̸̻̽̎D̸͕̔͠R̵͈̜̃͂E̷̪͊A̷̢͛͒M̷̬̳̿͠B̷͙͍̄̾E̷͙̿̒N̸͍̓̍D̶̰̥̏̽E̶̦̔R̶͙͛̚?̴̱̳” Alcor’s voice rang out from behind the closed door, and Sam shuddered at the reverb. There was a part of her that knew that this was part of the persona he put on, but a part of her, the part that had gone charging into a summons with a metal pipe and no plan, wanted to bolt, to get as far away from here as possible. The part that remembered him eating dry, sugary cereal won out, though, and they stayed, Cultbasher in her hands.</p><p>There was another voice, one that Sam was considerably less familiar with, but could recognize from MeTube videos.</p><p>“Oh, great Alcor-”</p><p>She was cut off by laughter, bouncing off of the walls and making Sam’s chest shake.</p><p>“D̵̲́͐r̷̡͚̒.̷̺̊̊ ̴̠̫̈́H̸̺̦̽͌a̴̺̤̍r̵̘̞̊t̵̞̿!̶̠̠̄̕ ̵͉̍S̶̗̃͜t̴͉̂̚ǐ̷̟l̶̟̕l̸̛̤͕̇ ̵̖̬̓a̵̼͑t̷̖̿ ̷͖͂̓i̵̲̇t̶̗̣̿̓,̶̩̑ ̶̂ͅä̸͙̮r̴̭̔͠ḛ̶͕̚̚ ̸͈̾̒y̶͇̽͋o̶͚͂̀u̸͙̿?̵̼̣̎͑ ̷̻̘̿͋Y̶̠̆ỏ̴̡̬͝ȗ̸̺͆ ̵̩̬͛͠ḱ̶̺͝n̴̞̿̕͜o̴̝͌̇w̶͇̥̿ ̶̧͔̊̈t̷͚̓͗h̶̨̜̕i̵̻̠͒s̶͔̊̉ ̴͙̂ͅw̸̠̾o̶͙̚n̴͈̖̄̚'̵̞̱͗̍t̵̩͇̍̓ ̸͙̬͝ẇ̸̞̕o̴̥̍ṛ̶̀̚k̴̖̈́͑,̵̧̐ ̴̡̪̋r̵̘͘͝ȉ̶̞̑g̸͓͗ḥ̷͘t̶̝͂̃?̶͕͑” There was a hint of anger to his voice, now, and Sam’s system was telling her to <em> run, get out of here- </em>she stayed put, though, gripping the handle of the bat tighter.</p><p>He wasn’t going to do anything. He had, in fact, told her to step in if things looked bad. And she had a better weapon. She had no reason to run out of the building. Not now, anyway.</p><p>“Apologies, Dreambender. I should know by now that traditional bindings will not work on you. I have... a different proposition to make.”</p><p>And now that Alcor had given her a name, the voice clicked for Sam. Alissa Hart, a woman who was generally viewed as something of a fake in demonology circles. Particularly according to the internet, who had decried her as a hoax and an idiot for considering binding Alcor the Dreambender.</p><p>What was she doing here?</p><p>“W̸̐͜h̴̞̿͒a̸̫̥̾t̷͈͍́ ̴̹͓d̴̬̜͐o̷͙͂̈́ ̶̳y̷̼͗͆ọ̵̜̍u̸̻̐̎ ̵͓̈́h̶̝͇͛ȧ̵̦́v̴͖̬͐̌ḙ̷̩̓ ̶̰̼̉̿ṱ̸̨̒o̶̡͕̽ ̴̕ͅo̴͎̹̒f̶͑̄͜f̸͍̹̒̌e̵̪̩͘r̴̯̰͊̑,̷͚̂ ̴̠̜́t̶̲̄̀ḩ̵͌͌e̷͇͎͂n̸͍̒?̵̠̮̅”</p><p>“Your compliance in exchange for his continued life,” came the surprisingly steady voice of Alissa Hart. Then, Sam was hit by something she could only describe as complete murderous intent.</p><p>Things had probably gone south, then, by the dead silence in the room.</p><p>“E̶͙̅̈́į̶̯̍t̷̨̓h̵̬̀͐e̵̼͐͂r̵͈̾,̸̘͒” Alcor’s voice came out, and Sam inched closer to the door, one hand reaching out to rest on the handle, “y̷̡̜o̶͉̞͐u̵̘͐͂ ̵̰̬̿͝a̶̲͒̊ŕ̵̰ȇ̵͈ ̴̗̔e̶̛̻n̵̲̪̽t̵̲͋ĭ̵̺̣ṙ̵̤͇ȩ̶̙̿̃l̴͍̄̎y̴̢̯̓ ̴͇̜̄͘s̷͇͐t̵͈̭͊̾ȗ̷͈̋p̶͚̎͛ȉ̸̳d̵̡͝,̵̪̲̎̐ ̸͓̞̀͊o̸̧̰͛r̷̯̈ ̴̯̑y̷̛̥͋o̸̗͛u̴̢͘ ̷̺͚͒͋h̵̼͉͑a̷̢̖͝v̶̦́̂ē̵͚͎̈́ ̷͔̟̓ā̵͓̾ ̷̲̳͊̕ḍ̷̓̿e̶̥̓̒ḁ̵͌t̵̬͋͑h̵̢̼͂ ̴̢̛̾w̴̡͖̃i̴̼͐s̶̹̚ḣ̷͖!̶̧͍͗̂”</p><p>Sam pushed the door open, and Alcor made eye contact with her. Sam almost stepped back out of the door, black and golden brickwork coming through in places. He was <em> angry, </em>and no wonder, really. He nodded to her, the movement was so slight that Hart probably hadn’t noticed it. His eyes, almost fully golden rather than the gold-on-black Sam was used to, shot back to what was immediately in front of him.</p><p>Sam understood the response, she really did.</p><p>Hart was there, in a blue robe, holding the wrist of a kid. He couldn’t have been much older than ten, and she was holding a knife to his throat, and there was an angry glint in Alcor’s eyes, black and gold brickwork starting to appear through the mostly-human appearance.</p><p>Was it Miami again, but in the opposite corner of the country?</p><p>There were four or five other people in the room, and Sam only realized that the door had shut behind her when came the loud sound of it nearly slamming shut. She saw Hart stiffen, before multiple sets of eyes landed on Sam.</p><p>“Uh, hi,” she said, shifting Cultbasher in her hand. “Would you believe me if I said I got lost?”</p><p>Hart’s gaze hardened on her.</p><p>“What is she doing here?” She asked, to no one in particular, voice sharp.</p><p>“I’ll take that as a no,” Sam said. Hart shoved the kid away roughly, and he stumbled on the concrete floor of the space. Anger boiled in Sam’s chest.</p><p>This woman had lost her loose position in academia by doing something reckless and stupid, and then had the guts to try again? She had the audacity to try again, but using straight-up blackmail to get what she wanted? She was messing with other people’s <em> lives </em> at this point, and she only cared about, what? Her reputation? </p><p>Sam swung the bat, and it slammed into Hart’s left shoulder. Sam felt it make contact, felt the devastating impact of metal and wood on flesh and bone, and saw Hart fall to the ground herself, knife skittering across the floor. Red started to stain the blue of her robe purple, before spreading across the floor. Sam narrowed her eyes.</p><p>“Who’s next?” Sam said, eyes locking with each of the cultists in the room. Dead silence reigned for a moment, before there was a rush to the door.</p><p>Which, Sam realized at the same moment as the cultists did, was unusable, courtesy of Alcor.</p><p>“N̵͚̍ǫ̵͝ ̴͎̓o̵̡̞̿n̶̪̗͑͝ę̷͖͐'̶͈͈̒͂š̵̹̝͋ ̴̩̣͗g̵̛̝̏o̵̻͋̌i̴͉̥͑ǹ̵̡g̸͇̗̈́̆ ̶͙͔̌a̵̯̯̅̐n̴̬͔̂y̸̙̩w̶̟̿͛h̵̞̓̄e̴͖̓r̴̪̓͜e̷͎̙͊.̷̼̘̚”</p><p>There was a panic from the cultists. Two of them kept trying to open the door. The other three turned on Sam and Alcor.</p><p>The fight was something of a blur, and at the end of it, Sam was standing over three unconscious bodies, Cultbasher in her hands. There was blood on the end of the bat, and she was pretty sure that elbows weren’t supposed to bend that way. The two other cultists were out cold by the door, if they were even still alive. Sam was pretty sure those two were Alcor’s doing, though, based off of the scorch marks.</p><p>The kid was in the corner, and Sam was reminded of this fact as a quiet whimper came from him. Alcor glanced between the door and the kid.</p><p>“Why don’t you calm him down and I’ll clean up,” Alcor said, voice low and barely controlled, and Sam nodded. She walked over to the kid and crouched down by him.</p><p>He shrunk back, eyes going to Cultbasher still in Sam’s hand. She put it down on the floor, and held up her hands.</p><p>“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” she said, keeping her voice low and level. “What’s your name?”</p><p>“A-Alex,” he managed to get out, and Sam smiled.</p><p>“Hi, Alex. I’m...Mizar,” she said, deciding on the title rather than her name for some reason she couldn’t quite identify. “Do you know where your family is?”</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>“Alright. Do you want someone to go back with you?”</p><p>Alex nodded again.</p><p>“D-daddy didn’t know that mama was... he’s at work right now.”</p><p>“Is Dr...is Miss Hart your mom?”</p><p>Alex nodded. Sam felt anger fill up her throat. She could feel it fill up the room like a physical force, and somehow she knew it was coming from Alcor. She could feel his eyes on the two of them, and she swallowed.</p><p>She had to keep it together for Alex, even if all she wanted to do was hit Hart again with her bat, over and over until she had learned her lesson about messing with demons. About trying to use your own <em> kid </em> to force a demon to do your bidding.</p><p>“Where does your dad work?” Sam was surprised by how steady her voice came out, considering the way her body was screaming for her to give Hart a piece of her mind.</p><p>“The- the uni...university.”</p><p>“Alright. That’s where I live, so I can walk you to your dad’s office, okay?”</p><p>“He’s... he’s probably... probably home by now,” Alex got out, his eyes on something behind Sam.</p><p>“Okay. Do you want me to walk there with you, then?”</p><p>“What about m-mom?”</p><p>“I̵'̵l̷l̵ ̴t̴a̴k̵e̵ ̷c̸a̷r̵e̷ ̴o̷f̷ ̷h̸e̴r̸.̷” Alcor spoke up behind them. Sam looked to him, and noticed that, for the most part, the black-and-gold brickwork she had seen starting to appear had retreated, eyes gone back to normal. She turned back to Alex and nodded.</p><p>“Yeah. I want to make sure you get home safe, though. Alright?”</p><p>Alex was still for a moment.</p><p>“Please... please don’t hurt... hurt her, mom’s... mom’s just...”</p><p>Sam winced. It was a bit too late for that. Besides, there was the whole using-her-own-child-as-blackmail-to-a-demon bit. Sam really wouldn’t feel too much remorse if she didn’t leave this room... but there was still that part of her that wanted people to be better. Maybe she could still learn from her mistakes.</p><p>This was her second chance, though, and she had blown it - even worse than she had the first time, if Sam were being honest with herself.</p><p>“N̶o̵ ̵p̶r̶o̵m̸i̶s̸e̷s̸.̴”</p><p>“She’s... she’s done bad stuff, Alex. She’s already gotten one second chance. It wouldn’t be fair to her to give her another. Or to you.”</p><p>“O...okay, miss Mizar.”</p><p>Sam stood up, glancing at Alissa Hart laying on the ground, and then to Alex, trying to muster up a smile.</p><p>“Want to lead the way?”</p><p>As she led Alex out the door, she shot Alcor and Hart one last look. Alcor had a look of pure, unfiltered anger on his face, and Sam didn’t think Hart’s chances looked good.</p><p>She left the room with Alex and shut the door.</p><p>The pair of them walked out into the cold night air. Sam was still holding Cultbasher in one hand, which she realized was probably not the greatest idea if she wanted to reassure Alex’s dad. As she had that thought, the bat seemed to disappear from her hand, and she frowned.</p><p>It was something from Alcor. She’d ask him about it later. Right now, her job was to get Alex back home.</p><p>The town of Pineview was a small one, mostly intended to cater to the needs of the University of Gliese students, along with the people who came here occasionally for the demonology conferences that the university seemed to host pretty regularly.</p><p>Alex held on to Sam’s hand as they walked through the quiet streets, sticking to the paths illuminated by streetlights once they had gotten far enough from the warehouse.</p><p>Alex led them to an apartment building by the grocery store, and the pair of them went inside. He led her up a couple flights of stairs, and stopped at one door and knocked.</p><p>There was a muffled “Give me a moment!” and Sam heard a small flurry of movement. Footsteps approached the door, and it opened. The man who had opened it was an older man, brown hair with streaks of silvery-grey a jumbled mess, even as it had seemed he had tried to push it back into a presentable form. Kind brown eyes looked down at the pair of them, and he seemed to sag with relief as he caught sight of Alex. Sam backed out of the hall as inconspicuously as she could, and left the building, standing against the rough wall outside and sighing.</p><p>It was like the adrenaline rush of the night finally caught up to her and died, and she could feel exhaustion creeping in. The chill didn’t help, and it had definitely gone totally dark. She pulled out her phone, and bit back a curse.</p><p>Six missed messages from Silver, and a missed call. As she watched, the phone lit up with Silver’s face and the incoming call. She quickly rushed to accept it, holding it up to her ear.</p><p>“Hey, Sil-”</p><p>“Where have you <em> been? </em>”</p><p>“What... what do you mean? I’m in Pineview, getting snack-”</p><p>“No, you’re not! Sam, it’s ten, it’s been three hours, and I know you said not to come looking until midnight but you usually at least check your texts when you go out!”</p><p>Shoot, that was a problem.</p><p>“...Right. Um...”</p><p>“So where are you that you haven’t been able to check text messages?”</p><p>“Spotty reception?”</p><p>“There isn’t spotty reception in Pineview, Sam. We checked the first week we got here.”</p><p>“So what kind of candies did you want again?” Sam quickly walked towards the store beside the apartment building, mentally cursing herself out.</p><p>“Don’t try to avoid the question, Sam, either you were doing something dangerous and didn’t want me to worry or you don’t trust me!”</p><p>Sam felt a sharpness in her chest at those.</p><p>“Silver, no, I-”</p><p>“Then tell me what you were doing.”</p><p>She caught sight of Alcor- Tyrone, actually, now- in the frozen foods aisle and she walked quickly over to him. She didn’t bother to question how he had gotten here, since she had a pretty good idea.</p><p>“I... you’ll see-”</p><p>“I’ll see where, Sam? Don’t tell me I’ll see it on the news because that’s just going to make me more worried!”</p><p>“Okay- okay. Give me, like, ten minutes-”</p><p>“Ten minutes. I’m setting a timer, Sam. Then I’m calling you back and you are explaining where the hell you are because I’m starting to get worried and you and Tyrone were talking about cults earlier today, and people lying about their whereabouts and cults do not mix well!”</p><p>“Wh- do you think I’m in a <em> cult? </em>”</p><p>Sam got some weird looks from the few other people in the store at that, and she coughed, lowering her volume.</p><p>“I’m not in a cult, Silver.”</p><p>“Then why won’t you tell me where you were?”</p><p>“Give me ten minutes and I will explain but I’m in the store right now-”</p><p>“So you are in the store? That wasn’t just an elaborate lie to get away with sneaking out? We’re adults, Sam, you don’t have to make excuses anymore-”</p><p>“I know, Silver, I know, and I will <em> tell you </em> as soon as I know I <em> can </em>.”</p><p>“Why can’t you just tell me now?”</p><p>“Because it involves someone else and I don’t want to just <em> tell </em> h- their secrets-”</p><p>“Is it Tyrone? Are you going out with someone again, Sam?”</p><p>“I’m not <em> dating </em> him if that’s what you’re asking!”</p><p>“But it is Tyrone.”</p><p>Dammit, she let that slip, didn’t she?</p><p>“Okay, yes, but you need to give-”</p><p>“Fine. Ten minutes. Then you are giving me a full explanation, whether or not Tyrone likes it.”</p><p>“...Okay, fine, deal,” Sam said. “I’ll see you in ten minutes.”</p><p>“What-”</p><p>Sam hung up. Tyrone watched her.</p><p>“Trouble?”</p><p>“Silver’s pissed at me for not being entirely honest about where I was going, and she wants to know when I get back.” Sam explained.</p><p>“That must be rough. Hey, ice cream tends to smooth things over, right?”</p><p>“We don’t have a freezer, A- Tyrone.”</p><p>He shrugged. “I mean, I could get one, but...”</p><p>“We’re not getting ice cream, we don’t have a freezer, and I don’t have the money for one-”</p><p>“I’m trying to tell you I can just <em> get </em> you guys a freezer. As a deal.”</p><p>Sam sighed. “Where would we put the freezer and how would we explain it?”</p><p>“It would be a small freezer and it would be pretty easy to explain with ‘oh, yeah, we got a freezer!’”</p><p>“So what would you want for the freezer, since you’re so hellbent on getting ice cream?”</p><p>“Two cartons of the ice cream of my choice.”</p><p>“You’ve really thought this through, huh?”</p><p>He just smiled in response. Sam sighed.</p><p>“I’ll think about it. And I’ll have to ask Silver, because it’s their room, too.”</p><p>“Sounds fair.”</p><p>“So no ice cream for now. We can come back and get you ice cream if Silver says yes and I decide it’s a workable idea.”</p><p>“So what are we here for?”</p><p>“Snacks, because that’s what I told Silver I was coming into town for, and they’re going to be even more annoyed if I don’t come back with something.”</p><p>“Alright, I’ll let you do that, and I’ll wait outside behind the store for you.”</p><p>“Okay, then.”</p><p>So Sam basically ran to find Silver’s snacks, and after a brief mental conflict, she decided to grab a couple small bags of peanut W&amp;Ws for herself. She checked out, and got around to the back of the store when Silver’s call came in. She bit her lip, and declined it.</p><p>She’d be right there, anyway.</p><p>She found Tyrone at the back of the store.</p><p>“I’m going to blip us, okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, since there’s no better way to get back.”</p><p>“Are you ready?”</p><p>Sam took a deep breath. “Yeah.”</p><p>She screwed her eyes shut, and felt the weird lack of gravity kick in, and then her feet hit the ground. She opened her eyes, and she was back in the dorm room, where Silver was now staring at her.</p><p>And Tyrone, who Sam could see had given up the human cover in the middle of blipping, and was now floating about an inch above the ground.</p><p>“Sam?” Silver’s voice was shaky. “Sam, why-”</p><p>“Told you it was a long story,” Sam said, sitting down and waiting for the dizziness to pass. “Give me a second. That’s- that’s not a pleasant feeling.”</p><p>“If I could do it smoother I would,” Alcor told her.</p><p>“I’ll get used to it,” she said, and blinked a few times. “Oh boy. Cool.”</p><p>“Sam, why is <em> Alcor the Dreambender </em>in our dorm room?”</p><p>Sam glanced at Alcor. She almost felt like this was intentional, but she couldn’t tell.</p><p>“Hi, Silver! Nice to officially meet you,” Alcor said. “Name’s Alcor the Dreambender, but you know me as Tyrone.”</p><p>Silver looked like they were about to pass out.</p><p>“Sam?” There was a strange note to Silver’s voice, and Sam couldn’t quite identify it, somewhere between pass-out terror and excitement.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“How long have you known about this?”</p><p>“...About two weeks?”</p><p>Sam felt like her current life could be in danger, and it wasn’t from the demon in the room.</p><p>“You’ve known for two weeks that we’ve been hanging out with <em> Alcor the Dreambender </em> and you didn’t <em> tell me? </em>”</p><p>“...Yes?”</p><p>“Sam Elizabeth Reese, you did <em> not- </em>”</p><p>Oh no.</p><p>“I would have told you but-”</p><p>“But what?”</p><p>“It’s- it’s a long story, Silver, and there was never really a good-”</p><p>“Well, now’s a good time!”</p><p>“A little quieter?”</p><p>“Okay, fine, <em> why have you not told me we’ve been hanging out with Alcor the Dreambender for two weeks? </em>”</p><p>“Because I was worried this would happen-”</p><p>“Does this have anything to do with why you lied to me about where you were?”</p><p>“...Possibly-”</p><p>“Is it a good possibly or a bad possibly?”</p><p>“Depends on how you look at it, really?”</p><p>“How do you think I’d look at it?”</p><p>“Right now? I don’t know, honestly!”</p><p>“We were investigating a cult,” Alcor cut in, grinning at Sam. “Speaking of, you might want to put those pants in the laundry, Sam.”</p><p>Sam glanced down and groaned.</p><p>“Oh goodie. This is your fault, you know.”</p><p>“You’re the one who agreed to come with me.”</p><p>“At least partially your fault since you invited me-”</p><p>“You went cultbashing?”</p><p>Sam looked to Silver. “Um... I guess that’s what you could call it, yeah.”</p><p>“So you went cultbashing... without telling me... that you were going cultbashing... with Alcor... and instead told me... you were going to the grocery store. Right?”</p><p>“...Pretty much sums it up, yeah.”</p><p>Silver tapped their heels against the floor, rocking slightly from side to side. Sam watched, biting her lip some. She had no idea what was going through Silver’s head.</p><p>“Tell me next time you go off doing Mizar stuff, okay?”</p><p>“Yea- wait. Silver, how did you-”</p><p>“He wouldn’t have asked you if you weren’t, I’m fairly sure.”</p><p>“They’re good at this,” Alcor added. Sam glared at him. He shrugged.</p><p>“Just being honest,” he added, and Sam sighed.</p><p>“Did you not know-”</p><p>“No, no, I knew that. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I knew it. I’m figuring it out. I know- I know the academic part, before you launch into it, Silver. I know about the historical and lore-based importance of it. I just don’t know everything it entails.”</p><p>“Except for the cultbashing.”</p><p>“Yes, Silver, thank you for returning to that.”</p><p>“Tell me next time though, okay? So I don’t freak out when you don’t text me back for three hours.”</p><p>Sam snorted. “Yeah, that was dumb.”</p><p>“So am I going to hear about it in the news?”</p><p>Sam glanced to Alcor.</p><p>“Wouldn’t be surprised. Not her, specifically, just... that it happened in general.”</p><p>“It... wasn’t a good first experience,” Sam admitted. “I didn’t get <em> hurt </em>, really, but-”</p><p>“Right. Just... don’t get yourself killed.”</p><p>“I’ll do my best not to.” Sam smiled. “So did you actually want those candies or...”</p><p>Silver smiled, and Sam handed over the bag after taking out her own treat.</p><p>“Sam, you’re awesome.”</p><p>“I’ll take that to mean you accept the explanation and won’t ignore me for the rest of the year?”</p><p>“Definitely. As for you,” they said, pointing to Alcor. There was a light in their eyes, one which Sam had started referring to as the ‘info-dump look’. “I have questions.”</p><p>“Woops, looks like I’ve got a summons right this second, I’ll see you two at breakfast tomorrow bye!”</p><p>“Hey-”</p><p>He disappeared, and Silver glared at the spot in the air where he had been a moment ago. Sam stifled a laugh.</p><p>“I mean, he probably doesn’t want to reveal every secret of his existence ever,” she said. Silver groaned in response.</p><p>“I’ll try again tomorrow,” they muttered.</p><p>“You do that. I’m going to change and then sleep, because I am very tired and expect to be in low-level pain tomorrow.”</p><hr/><p>The next morning, they did see Sam and Alcor’s small adventure on the news, and Sam avoided the pointed look Silver gave her the entire time they were watching the story on their tablet.</p>
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